Coats and Armour
by pentameter-and-pen
Summary: CS. Following their ambush at Pan's camp, Emma keeps watch while the others sleep. But her thoughts keep returning to a certain pirate. Takes place immediately after 3x02.


**Coats and Armour**

CS. Following their ambush at Pan's camp, Emma keeps watch while the others sleep. But her thoughts keep returning to a certain pirate. Takes place immediately after 3x02.

CSCSCSCSCS

Emma shivers, but the fire's too far away. She'd get up and move closer to it, but she doesn't want to wake any of the others. Not after the day they've had.

The exchange with Pan and the Lost Boys was a huge blow to the group's morale, and Pan's threat that Henry might not want to leave when they find him is still ringing in her ears. A not-so-small part of her is scared that's true. After all that's what she'd heard in stories as she was growing up. Hadn't she once dreamed that Peter Pan would someday come and carry her off to Neverland?

Emma snorts. She never thought she'd see the day where she actually step foot on the island in search of her own son, with her parents – Snow White and Prince Charming – in tow. It seems like the thing her eight-year-old self would dream up late night, when one of the stars twinkled just a little brighter than the others.

Pan had called her an orphan. And today, it had all come rushing back. The loneliness… The pain… The questions without any answers…

Seeing the despair in that Lost Boy's eyes had made her realise that not everyone has a happy ending. Her parents seem to be the exception, not the rule. After all, look at whom they're travelling with. A Queen who turned to dark magic over the death of her true love and unleashed a curse over the Enchanted Forrest? A pirate who'd waited three hundred years to seek his revenge on the man who'd killed the woman he'd loved and taken his hand? And hadn't she lost Neal and now, almost Henry?

She loves her parents but sometimes they didn't seem to know what they were talking about. That's another reason she doesn't want to wake them up. After the revelation she'd had with Mary Margaret today, she'd just ask Emma how she's doing and Emma is far from in the mood to talk. Her and David's insistence that everything is going to be 'just fine' is starting to grate on Emma's nerves. All she wants right now is a stiff drink.

Emma snorts again. But this time her lips curve in a smirk.

Hook.

He's the last thing she could have ever expected. And she's beginning to think that's a good thing. She'd never tell him, but he's proving to be quite invaluable on this trip and she's glad he's decided to come along. Especially with Regina always questioning her decisions, and Mary Margaret and David accepting all of them in an effort to show their support. Weirdly enough, the pirate who chooses to wear an all leather outfit is the only one who seems to have a clear head on this island.

Though she's beginning to suspect this might not be the case for long. He seems to be developing somewhat of a crush on her. Or at the very least he's attracted to her. He almost said as much when he'd flirtatiously asked who she really was.

But then again, he's always flirted with her. Or tried to – if it hadn't been for her knocking him out countless times. It's only recently that he's begun taking it seriously. It's almost like he's started developing real feelings for her.

But that can't be right – can it?

She's done nothing to encourage him. Apart from occasionally sort of flirting back. But they have an understanding… This is how they interact. She can't help it if he makes everything she says to him sound suggestive. So there can't _really_ be anything between them. He's still in love with Milah and she still loves… Neal?

That's what she'd told him just before he'd died, but Emma doesn't think that's true… At least not any more…

She had loved him once. But then he'd left her and she'd had Henry and twelve years had passed. He'd only come back into her life after she'd agreed to accompany Gold when he'd gone in search of his son.

If it had been the kind of 'I-will-always-find-you-no-matter-what' love her parents seem to have found in each other, wouldn't he have come looking for her? But then why did he leave her in the first place?

Seeing him again had brought back all these feelings she'd thought she'd buried years ago. It had felt unrequited rather than joyful. Like meeting the teenage crush that could have been, rather than meeting the love of her life. After all, she'd never had the chance to say goodbye. She'd never had the chance to ask him _why_ he'd never shown up that night. All that had done was made her feel like an orphan all over again.

And then losing him again had made her feel just like she was reduced to a teenager again. So she'd yelled out that she loved him. The words she'd never gotten to say to him then. Allowing her to finally close the chapter on a book she'd been carrying for way too long.

So while losing him had hurt, it doesn't hurt as much any more. Not like the first time. Instead it feels _good_. Like she's free from the 'could-haves' and 'should-haves' that had been plaguing her so far.

Perhaps, she thinks, now she has a chance of actually finding True Love like her parents. A small part of her wonders if she'll ever experience it. It seems that everyone but her has found it at some point in their lives. Regina had Daniel. Hook had Milah. Even Rumple has Belle. If three of the most infamous villains in all of history can, surely the Saviour can as well?

Maybe that's why she finds herself flirting back with Hook instead of getting annoyed at him. It's nice thinking that someone can think of her romantically.

But it's a little more than that… Unlike most things in her life, her relationship with him seems to be the most uncomplicated. With him she's not a 'mother', 'daughter' or even the 'Saviour' – roles she wasn't prepared to have sprung on her like this. Instead she's simply 'Swan', and that's nice. It reminds her of her life pre-Storybrooke, when she was just a bail bonds-person.

And Emma enjoys that. It makes her feel like she's still her old self, instead of all the second-guessing she seems to be doing lately. And it's not like he _isn't_ easy on the eyes. That _was_ the first thing she'd thought when she'd first laid eyes on him all those months ago. Of course it had helped that she felt like she could trust him right away. Looking in his eyes she'd seen herself.

That's why she couldn't bring herself to hate him. Even when he'd hurt Belle… Even when he'd been working with Cora…

It was because they had an understanding. Almost like honour among thieves. As a cold gust passes through her, and as she shivers Emma catches herself smiling. She stops herself. Is she really considering the thought of a romance with the pirate?

She shakes herself and pushes the notion away. Now she really needs that drink.

Maybe she can take Hook's flask out of his coat while he's asleep.

She looks over to where he should be sleeping, but he isn't there. Immediately Emma leaps to her feet. Could the Lost Boys have taken him? Looking around the campsite there's no sign of him so that might be a possibility. Besides, she would have seen something. She's about to wake the others up when she hears rustling behind her. She draws out her sword, preparing herself for an attack. Instead, out steps Hook.

"Where were you?!" Emma whispers furiously.

"Sounds like you were concerned… _Love_." He draws out the last word and Emma knows that she isn't making up his attraction to her.

"I thought Pan had got you!" Out of the corner of her eye she can see Mary Margaret stir. She steps closer to Hook, sword still drawn.

He takes a step closer too. The tip of the sword rests gently on his chest as he runs his Hook down the blade.

"Well then… you definitely _were_ concerned…"

Emma can't take her eyes off his. They're as dark as the night sky. For a second, neither of them makes a move, the energy crackling between them. Maybe she's been lying to herself about her attraction to him.

"You still haven't answered my question…" She doesn't mean for her voice to sound so husky. She was just trying to keep her voice down.

"Nature called, and I answered..." He says with a twinkle in his eye. It reminds her of the brightest star in the sky. And just for a moment she's an eight-year-old girl again, hoping that someone who loves her will come find her.

The pirate's expression softens somewhat, but the intensity in his eyes remains. "Penny for your thoughts… _Swan_…"

Just like that she's back to being Emma. She opens her mouth to answer, but the night breeze starts up again, and she instantly shivers.

She quickly puts the sword away, to avoid hurting him.

When she turns back to Hook he's slipped out of his coat and is holding it out to her.

"What! Why?!" She doesn't whisper and she hears Regina stir.

Hook remains quiet for a moment. Clearly he'd rather not wake the rest of their group up as well.

"I'm not in the habit of letting ladies freeze to death…"

This time his voice is husky. And he takes a step forward as he says it, slowly closing the distance between them.

It's weird but this feels like the norm. In all the time she's known him, he's never stood more than an arm's length from her. And she's never noticed that it hasn't bothered her… until now.

"What if I said I'm not a lady?" Emma insists. She can't help but grab onto the leather sleeve. To her surprise it's softer than she expected. Clearly it's a well-loved coat.

He steps slightly closer, maintaining eye contact.

Emma holds it, not wanting to be the one who loses this game of chicken.

However Hook seems to have different plans as he moves his face closer and closer to hers. But instead of going for her lips, he aims for her ear.

"Then I'd say you're lying…" He whispers in her ear, his warm breath tickling her cheek as his stubble lightly grazes it.

She barely hears him over the rustle of the wind in the leaves around them. But she's not sure if the shiver that passes through her is due to the cold or his words.

Wordlessly he drapes his coat around her shoulders. Reluctantly Emma puts it on, instantly grateful for the warmth it offers.

"Thanks…" She says, wrapping it around herself. She can sense Hook giving her a once-over as she does so. Looking back at him she notes that he still hasn't buttoned his shirt all the way up. "What about you?"

He smiles. "Don't worry about me Love, I've spent quite a while here. I'm used to Neverland's winds."

"Well you'd better not freeze to death," she threatens, a joking tone entering her voice.

"Are you offering to keep me warm?" He steps closer. The twinkle is back in his eyes.

This time it's her turn to whisper in his ear. As she leans in she can feel him holding his breath.

"I'm not in the habit of warming pirates up…"

As she leans back, he arches his eyebrow suggestively.

But just like earlier, she steps back, widening the distance between them to an arm's length again.

She lets out a yawn as she does so. She quickly tries to clamp down on it. But it's too late.

"Go to sleep Swan, I can take over from here." Hook's tone is firm as he orders her.

Before Emma can protest she yawns again. Perhaps the pirate is right and she should go to sleep. It's been a long day, and if she's going to rescue Henry she's going to need her sleep. So she just nods in response, slowly turning and making her way back to her sleeping parents. But instead of lying down next to them, she walks over to the other side of the fire and lies down, her feet facing Hook.

As she bunches up her turtleneck to make a pillow she catches him staring at her. She returns it, nestling into his coat as she does so.

The inside's lined with fleece and some other kind of heat-retaining material – like his sleeve it's all much softer than she'd expected. The warmth combined with its size – his shoulders are much wider than hers – make her feel like she's being wrapped in a hug. But most of all she's impressed by how it smells – or rather, _doesn't_ smell. She'd expecting something else from a coat worn for almost three hundred years. Instead it seems to have a scent, a combination of sea air, wood varnish and… She can't quite place the third smell… But she almost wants to say _adventure_.

Emma smiles at him before she closes her eyes. Hook returns it, still not taking his eyes off of her.

Within moments she's asleep…

CSCSCSCSCS

_Emma's eight years old and back at her second foster home, standing on her bed dressed in a navy hand-me-down bathrobe and pyjamas, and holding a cardboard paper towel tube to her eye… _

_Looking through it she spots a stuffed unicorn on the bookshelf across the room. _

"_The Golden Unicorn is that way!" Emma declares pointing in its direction. Her crew, comprising of four-year-old Carlos and seven-year-old Vanessa, cheers. _

"_Hoist the sails!" Emma calls out. Vanessa begins miming pulling rope, with young Carlos imitating her actions. "Aye Captain!" They both respond. _

_Emma notices that a corner of the pirate flag she'd taped to the wall behind her bed has come loose. _

"_Be careful!" She warns them as she pretends to steer their ship. "There's a storm coming!"_

_The three kids throw themselves around the single bed, their ship clearly encountering heavy winds. _

"_Oh no! The ship has crashed!" Vanessa shouts. "What are we going to do?" _

_Carlos looks up at Emma who quickly surveys the room. Suddenly she smiles and tosses her pillow to the floor. _

"_The floor is lava! But don't worry, follow me!" She cries, leaping onto it. She then quickly jumps from it to the adjacent bed. Once on it she turns back to them. "Once we get to the treasure, we can fix it!" _

_The three kids quickly make their way to the last bed before the bookshelf. Emma quickly tosses a pillow onto the ground and jumps on it before she begins climbing up the shelves until she reaches the unicorn. As soon as it's within reach she snatches at it's leg and hops back onto the pillow and then back onto the bed. _

_Once back at their ship, Emma stands and faces Vanessa and Carlos, holding the unicorn above her head like Simba. "The power of the Golden Unicorn has fixed our ship!"_

_They all laugh and cheer, flopping down on the bed. _

"_That was fun!" Carlos announces, turning to Emma. "You're such a good pirate Emma." _

"_Yeah," Vanessa chimes in. _

"_Thanks," says Emma, sitting up. Noticing her loose 'flag' she stands up and smoothens it back onto the wall. The tape sticks, revealing crayon-coloured skull and crossbones. _

"_That's what you should be when you grow up," Carlos tells her, playing with the stuffed unicorn. "A pirate." _

"_No…" Vanessa disagrees. "Pirates are bad."_

"_Not all pirates." Emma disagrees as she sits down beside them. _

"_Name one." Vanessa challenges her. _

"_Captain Hook!" Carlos answers._

"_No he's bad. Remember? He tries to kill Peter Pan." Vanessa explains. _

"_What about me?" Emma asks. "Captain Swan."_

_Vanessa thinks about it. "I guess…" _

_Emma jumps off the bed and puts her hands on her hips. "It's decided then… I'll be Captain Swan."_

CSCSCSCSCS

A/N: Sorry about the abrupt ending but I've had this idea of Emma pretending to be a pirate as a child for a long time and I'm happy I finally got to write it. I wasn't sure where to go after that so I thought I'd just leave it there. Let me know if this ending works for you. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know I'd love to have a better ending for this!

I'd also wanted to write something about Killian lending her his coat because I think that's something he would do. I'm happy I got both of them in one. Especially since this idea's been roiling in me for a while.

As usual I appreciate questions, comments and concerns! So feel free to leave me a message (or don't)! Thanks for reading!


End file.
